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I absolutely hate family gatherings these days. The conversation always has to touch on politics and what is wrong with the world today. On Mother's Day for instance, we had a large family gathering with all the grandparents. My mother cooked, and everyone ate. While everyone was sitting in the kitchen enjoying their meal, my great-grandpa had to start bashing Obama, and going on one of his usual rants about how terrible society is today. I don't know how he can be so oblivious to the fact that he's offending some of the people around him. Not everyone believes just like he does, but does he care? Nope. He then went on to say something about my mother's weight. (A normal occurance as well) I was just so fed up with hearing the absurd things he was saying. He offended me and frankly pissed me off when he hurt my mom's feelings. I was texting one of my friends to escape the torturous conversation, and he chimes in with "that's what's wrong with young people today!" I bit my tongue, but I looked at my mother, who was sitting across from me and whispered "at least I'm not working a pole or doing drugs." She just looked at me and I knew she was thinking, just don't say anything, he's old and doesn't know any better. That's the thing though. Since when does being old excuse someone for being mean? I don't care what generation a person is from, most all of us have heard the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." We are all entitled to our opinons, but there is a time and place for those opinons to be known. A family dinner in which the mothers are supposed to be honored and respected should not have to turn into a political debate, and a 'let's put down people' party. I know we are supposed to respect our elders, but why should we respect someone who has no respect for anyone else? I just really don't understand what goes through the heads of some people. The thing is, I never know if I should call my great-grandpa out on his crap, or just keep biting my tongue. It's a tough choice. So my question for you: Will some people just never learn how to have a little tact? What is the best way to deal with obnoxious family members?